JP2003510969A - Multiple wireless communication protocol method and apparatus including preventive reduction of interference - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract Each first device wirelessly networked with each other using a first wireless protocol that is a frequency hopping protocol, and each first device wirelessly networked with each other using a second wireless protocol. A collection of wirelessly networked devices, including two devices, is operated in a coordinated manner, including a proactive reduction of interference between the network devices. In one embodiment, each of the first devices includes at least a first and a second subset respectively operating with first and second frequency hopping patterns. The preventive reduction action includes synchronous operation of the first and second subsets of each first device, and each second device operates in a manner that complements the synchronous operation of each first device. I do. In one embodiment, the collection of wirelessly networked devices includes at least one wireless device operating in both wireless networks according to both wireless protocols. The multi-protocol device is configured to determine whether transmission of a long packet over a plurality of consecutive frequencies caused by the device of the first wireless network causes interference with the device of the second wireless network. Can promote promising predictions about

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

RELATED APPLICATION The present invention is directed to a “Multiple Wireless Communication Protocol Method and Apparatus (Multiple, Wi
release Communication Protocol Method
S. And Applications) "filed on November 12, 2000 and filed on November 12, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part application of US patent application Ser. No. 09 / 439,946. A wireless device having a plurality of cooperative transceivers for wireless communication protocols (A Wireless Applications Havin
g Multiple Coordinated Transceivers
For Multiple Wireless Communication
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 408,725, filed Sep. 29, 1999 under the name "Protocols"), and (b) "a wireless device having a transceiver capable of supporting multiple wireless communication protocols ( A Wireless Appar
atus Having A Transceiver Equiped T
o Support Multiple Wireless Wireless Communic
"Application Protocols") and is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 436,458, filed November 8, 1999.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to the problem of simultaneous wireless communication with multiple communication partners according to different wireless communication protocols.

2. Background Information Wireless communication is becoming more prevalent due to advances in microprocessors and communication technology. Therefore, previously limited to the privileged class, wireless voice communications are now affordable to the general public. By the way, today, there are various types of applications in which wireless communication is applied to replace mounting cables used for mounting peripheral devices such as printers and scanners, and network cables used for connecting clients, servers and the like. Attempts are being made. The main candidates for achieving the former are known to the person skilled in the art as the Bluetooth technology or the Bluetooth protocol. An example of a technique for achieving the latter is IEEE 802., published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Various modifications of the 11 standards, 802.11 (frequency hopping, direct spread [
direct sequence]), 802.11a, 802.11b, as well as Home RF (HomeRF), also known to those skilled in the art as SWAP.

In many applications, devices are “simultaneously” with multiple wireless protocols.
The desire to be able to operate has become clear. One such application is to use a notebook computer as a telephone with the Bluetooth protocol,
Allows communication with peripherals such as printers and scanners, and according to each 802.11 protocol or home RF, a peer computer (peer co)
a communication device such as a modem or an adapter, a communication device such as a modem or an adapter, and a network device such as a gateway, a router, or a switch.

However, the above needs cannot be met simply by deploying a plurality of transmitters in the device such that there is one transmitter for each protocol. The reason is that if more than one of these transmitters does not transmit at the same time, they will interfere with each other, resulting in data corruption and / or loss, and poor performance.

As will be described in further detail below, the present invention substantially addresses this need in a highly efficient and low cost manner. This and other advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the description below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Each first device wirelessly networked with each other using a first wireless protocol that is a frequency hopping protocol and wirelessly networked with each other using a second wireless protocol. The collection of wirelessly networked devices, including each second device, is operated cooperatively, including proactive reduction of interference between each network device. In one embodiment, each of the first devices includes at least first and second subsets operating in first and second frequency hopping patterns, respectively. The preventive reduction effect comprises a synchronous operation of the first and second subsets of each first device, and each second device in a manner complementary to the synchronous operation of each first device. Operate. In one embodiment, the collection of wirelessly networked devices includes at least one wireless device operating in both wireless networks according to both wireless protocols. The multi-protocol device is at least whether transmission of a long packet performed by a device of the first wireless network over a plurality of consecutive frequencies causes interference with a device of the second wireless network. May facilitate prospective foresight.

The present invention is described by way of non-limiting exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings in which the same reference numbers represent the same elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following description, various aspects of the invention are described. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some or all aspects of the invention. It should be noted that, for purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and arrangements are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without specific details. In other instances, well-known features have been omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the invention.

It should be noted that certain parts of the description are presented to convey the substance of their functions using software terms commonly used by those skilled in the art. Also, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, many of these software programs include electrical, magnetic, which can be stored, transferred, coupled and otherwise manipulated by the mechanical and electrical components of digital systems. In the form of optical or optical signals; and the phrase "digital system" includes stand-alone, additional or self-contained general and special purpose processors, systems, etc.

On the other hand, while various acts are described as multiple discrete steps performed in the most useful way of understanding the present invention, the order in which they are presented is in the order of the recited steps. It should not be interpreted as meaning dependent. Furthermore, although the phrase "in one embodiment" is used repeatedly, this phrase does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may be for the same embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, an overview of the present invention is shown according to one embodiment. As shown, the wireless device 100 comprises wireless transceivers 102a and 102b, since the wireless transceivers 102a and 102b transmit and receive signals wirelessly according to first and second wireless communication protocols, respectively,
The device 100 is communicatively coupled to the respective devices 104a and 104b of the wireless networks 108a and 108b, respectively. The wireless device 100 further includes controller managers 106a and 106b that control the operation of the wireless transceivers 102a and 102b, respectively. As will be described in more detail below, the controller managers 106a and 106b control transmission and reception by the coordinated manager wireless transceivers 102a and 102b in accordance with the present invention, so that the wireless device 100 is configured to connect to the wireless network 108a and the wireless network 108a. Each device 104a of 108b and each device 104b may operate simultaneously according to their respective wireless communication protocols.

In one embodiment, transmissions and receptions by the wireless transceivers 102a and 102b (hereinafter simply transceivers) are coordinated to the controller manager 106a.
And 106b control. More specifically, in this embodiment, the controller managers 106a and 106b control the transceivers 102a and 102b so that transmission by one of these two transceivers and reception by both of the two transceivers are alternately performed. To do. FIG. 2 shows the operation intervals according to the embodiment. At the time interval T1 for the duration t1 as shown, the controller manager 1
Reference numeral 06a denotes each device 1 of the wireless network 108a (hereinafter simply network) according to the first wireless communication protocol (hereinafter simply protocol).
While controlling the transceiver 102a to perform the transmission of the signal to 04a,
The controller manager 106b controls each device 104b of the network 108b.
The transmitter / receiver 102b is controlled so that neither transmission nor reception of a signal to or from the receiver is performed. The reverse of the above is performed in the time interval T3 for the duration t3. That is, the controller manager 106b controls the transceiver 102b to perform signal transmission to each device 104b of the wireless network 108b according to the second protocol, while the controller manager 106a transmits signal to each device 104a of the network 108a and The transceiver 102a is controlled so that neither reception is performed. In time intervals T2 and T4 for durations t2 and t4, controller managers 106a and 106b follow wireless networks 108a and 1 according to their respective protocols.
Both transceivers 102a and 102b are controlled to perform the reception of signals from each of the 08b devices 104a and 104b.

All wireless protocols are carrier sense.
e) or contention free protocol, each device 104a may receive in time interval T1 and may have packets to send in time interval T2 to T4. If so, it can transmit and in other cases it can receive. Similarly, each device 104b receives during time interval T3 and receives time intervals T1, T2 and T4.
In (1), if there is a packet to be transmitted, transmission can be performed, and in other cases, reception can be performed.

Therefore, the wireless device 100 simultaneously uses two wireless protocols for each device 104a and 104 of the wireless network 108a and 108b.
b can be manipulated.

The time intervals T1 to T4 may or may not have the same duration. That is, numerically t1 to t4 may or may not be equal. In various modifications of the embodiment, as will be described in more detail below, the time intervals T1 to T4 are
The durations t1 to t4 of are set dynamically and adaptively. In a particular variant, the durations t1 to t4 of the time intervals T1 to T4 are set adaptively based at least in part on the transmission and reception workload of the networks 108a and 108b.

Returning to FIG. 1, except for the teachings of the present invention incorporated into wireless device 100 to implement the cooperative operation of transceivers 102a and 102b described above,
Transceivers 102a and 102b and controller managers 106a and 106b are intended to represent a wide range of these elements known in the art. Therefore,
Except for the teachings of the present invention, which are further described below, transceivers 102a and 10a
2b and controller managers 106a and 106b are not described further.

The wireless device 100 is intended to represent a wide range of devices that may benefit from having the ability to wirelessly operate other wireless devices with more than one wireless communication protocol at the same time. Examples of device 100 include, but are not limited to, computers of various form factors such as desktops, notebooks, palm sizes; networks 108a and 108b.
Controller devices (i.e., master devices) that manage and control the operation of the devices, and gateway devices that facilitate communication between each device 104a and each device 104b.

Similarly, devices 104a and 104b are intended to represent a wide range of devices that may benefit from being able to communicate wirelessly. Examples of device 104a include, but are not limited to, telephones, video cameras, speakers, modems, printers and scanners capable of wireless communication according to the Bluetooth protocol. Examples of device 104b include clients, servers, as well as gateways, modems, hubs, routers and switches capable of wireless communication according to the IEEE 802.11 protocol or home RF alternatives.

In FIG. 1, for ease of understanding, only two groups of devices 104 a and 104 b that communicate according to the first and second wireless communication protocols are shown. However, for those skilled in the art (as long as each transceiver is similarly coordinated)
It will be readily apparent from the following description that the present invention may be practiced with more than two transceivers.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, shown are block and state diagrams illustrating further details of the wireless device 100 of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment. As shown, the controller manager 106a / 106b of the wireless device 100 comprises a state machine 300a / 300b that complementarily assists the controller manager 106a / 106b to cooperatively control the transceivers 102a / 102b described above. ing. More specifically, each state machine 300a / 300b has an idle state 41
0 plus the transmission (TX) for that controller manager 106a / 106b.
) Has four operating states 412 to 418, which output signals 304a / 304b meaning an operation selected from among operation, receive (RX) operation and no operation (NOP).

Upon power-up or reset, each state machine 300a / 300b will have an idle state 41 depending on the state of the configuration signals 302a / 302b.
The state transits from 0 to the TX state 412 or the NOP state 416. Eg 300
One state machine, such as a, is configured to transition from idle state 410 to TX state 412, while the other state machine, such as 300b, is set to idle state 4
Set to transition from 10 to TX state 412. config signal 302a
/ 302b may be set via a jumper or other equivalent means as well as software, for example.

While in the TX state 412, the state machine 300a / 300b stays in the state for the duration ts1 and outputs signals 304a / 304b meaning TX operation to its controller manager 1026a / 106b. In one embodiment where t1 and t3 take different values, one state machine, such as 300a, is set by ts1 set to t1, and the other state machine, such as 300b, is set by ts1 set to t3. It ts1 can be selectively set by any one of a number of techniques known in the art, such as a separate register or multiplication circuit. Upon expiration of ts1, state machine 300a / 300b transitions from TX state 412 to RX1 state 414.

While in RX1 state 414, state machine 300a / 300b has a duration of ts2.
, And outputs a signal 304a / 304b that signifies an RX operation to that controller manager 106a / 106b. In one embodiment where t2 and t4 take different values, one state machine, such as 300a, is set by ts2 set to t2 and the other state machine, such as 300b, is set by ts2 set to t4. It ts2 can be selectively set by any one of numerous techniques known in the art. Upon expiration of ts2, state machine 300a / 300b transitions from RX1 state 414 to NOP state 416.

While in NOP state 416, state machine 300a / 300b has a duration of ts3.
, And outputs a signal 304a / 304b meaning NOP for that controller manager 106a / 106b. In one embodiment where t1 and t3 take different values, one state machine, such as 300a, is set by ts3 set to t3, and the other state machine, such as 300b, is set by ts3 set to t1. It ts3 can be selectively set by any one of numerous techniques known in the art. Upon expiration of ts3, state machine 300a / 300b transitions from NOP state 416 to RX2 state 418.

While in RX2 state 418, state machine 300a / 300b has a duration of ts4.
, And outputs a signal 304a / 304b that signifies an RX operation to that controller manager 106a / 106b. In one embodiment where t2 and t4 take different values, one state machine, such as 300a, is set by ts4 set to t4, and the other state machine, such as 300b, is set by ts4 set to t2. It ts4 can be selectively set by any one of numerous techniques known in the art. Upon expiration of ts4, state machine 300a / 300b transitions from RX2 state 418 to TX state 412.

From TX state 412, state machine 300a / 300b continues operation as described above.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, shown are block and state diagrams illustrating further details of the wireless device 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with another embodiment. As shown, for the embodiment, each controller manager of the wireless device 100 includes a state machine that complementarily assists the controller managers 106a / 106b to cooperatively control the transceivers 102a / 102b described above. Alternatively, the wireless device 100 may include a controller manager 106a.
And a single state machine 500 supporting both 106b. Similarly, state machine 500, in addition to idle state 610, has NOPs and TXs for its controller managers 106a and 106b, both RX and TX.
And NOP, which has four operation states 612 to 618 (S1 to S4) that output a pair of signals 504a and 504b, which indicate selected combinations of operations.

Upon power up or reset, state machine 500 transitions from idle state 610 to S1 state 612. While in the S1 state 612, the state machine 500 remains in the state for the duration ts1 and the controller managers 106a and 1
It outputs signals 504a, 504b, which means TX and NOP for 06b. ts1 is set to t1. Upon expiration of ts1, state machine 500 transitions from S1 state 612 to S2 state 614. While in S2 state 614, state machine 500 remains in state for duration ts2 and controller manager 10
It outputs signals 504a, 504b which means RX for both 6a and 106b. ts2 is set to t2. Upon expiration of ts2, state machine 500 transitions from S2 state 614 to S3 state 616.

While in the S3 state 616, the state machine 500 remains in the state for ts3,
It outputs signals 504a, 504b meaning NOP and TX to controller managers 106a and 106b. ts3 is set to t3. ts
Upon expiration of 3, state machine 500 transitions from S3 state 616 to S4 state 618. While in S4 state 618, state machine 500 remains in state for duration ts4 and R for both controller managers 106a and 106b.
The signals 504a and 504b meaning X are output. ts4 is set to t4. Upon expiration of ts4, state machine 500 transitions from S4 state 618 to S1 state 612.

From S1 state 612, state machine 500 continues operation as described above. Referring now to FIG. 7, according to yet another embodiment, the wireless device 10 of FIG.
A block diagram and state diagram showing 0 in more detail are shown. As shown, for the embodiment, the wireless device 100 is as described above (TX-NOP, RX.
A single state machine 7 which should support both controller managers 106a and 106b) (via signals 708a, 708b meaning RX or NOP-TX).
00, the wireless device 100 further includes a register 702, a time sharing manager 704 and a workload monitor operatively coupled to each other and to the state machine 700 as shown. 706 is provided. Register 702 is t for state machine 700
Memorize 1 to t4. Since time division manager 704 dynamically adjusts t1-t4, state machine 700 may adaptively assist controller managers 106a and 106b in controlling transceivers 102a and 102b. For the illustrated embodiment, the time division manager 704 is at least partially network 108.
Dynamically adjust t1-t4 based on the transmit and receive workloads of a and 108b. Send and receive workloads are monitored by workload monitor 706 and provided to time-sharing manager 704.

The register 702 can be configured by any storage circuit known in the art. The time division manager 704 and workload monitor 706 may be implemented with any combination of logic or software.

Referring now to FIGS. 8a and 8b, there are shown operational intervals for the wireless device 100 of FIG. 1 according to two alternative embodiments. In each of these two alternative embodiments, the first protocol of each wireless device 104a of network 108a is assumed to be a frequency hopping protocol as shown, ie, each wireless device 104a transmits a signal. Hop between frequencies according to a pseudo random pattern. For ease of understanding, the second protocol of each wireless device 104b of network 108b is assumed to be a constant frequency protocol (although in alternative embodiments it may be frequency hopping
Can also be a protocol). In any case, to explain the invention, at least one of the frequencies of the first protocol is the same frequency as the second protocol. Thus, when some of each device 104a and 104b are placed sufficiently close to each other and one of each device 104a selects the same frequency for transmission, there is interference (or collision) between these devices. Occurs and one or more transmissions result in failure. For the example shown, the 7th and 14th hops [ho
p] (f7 and f14) is indicated by frequency interference (or collision).
That is, according to the pseudo-random pattern above, each of these two hops causes each device 104a to transmit at the same frequency employed by each device 104b. Here, an example of the frequency hopping protocol is the Bluetooth protocol, and an example of the protocol having an interference frequency with respect to Bluetooth is the 802.11 protocol. [Note that the exemplary interference at the 7th and 14th hops is not meant to imply that interference occurs every 7th hop. The interference pattern is determined by the intersection of the pseudo-random pattern followed by the frequency hopping device 104a and the frequency employed by the device 104b. ]

In order to further improve the operating efficiency of both networks, through conventional collision detection, back off and retry techniques after frequency interference occurs,
Instead of letting the interfering devices 104a and 104b simply resolve each of the frequency interferences, the wireless device 100 uses the devices 104a and 104b.
To coordinate the actions of the above to proactively reduce the actual occurrence of interference. More specifically, for the illustrated embodiment, either each device 104a or each device 104b is selected as the "dominant" device. Non-selected devices are considered to be dependent devices.
Since the subordinate device is informed that the operation should be held momentarily to prevent the interference with the dominant device proactively, the dominant device can continue the operation without interference. As a result, time-consuming collision detection, backoff and retries are substantially reduced, and experiments have shown that the overall operational efficiency of both networks, the dependent and dominant networks, is improved. .

FIG. 8a shows the intervals of operation when the frequency hopping device, device 104a, is selected as the dominant device, while FIG. 8b shows the device 104b.
Shows the interval of operation when is selected as the dominant device. That is, according to FIG. 8a, the device 104b temporarily suspends its operation when receiving a notification to prevent interference defensively, but according to FIG. 8b, the device 104a temporarily receives a notification. Hold the action to prevent interference from occurring proactively.

According to any one of these embodiments, the wireless device 100 operates essentially as described above. However, in addition to the above, the wireless device 100 determines a pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern (including an interference frequency in one embodiment) of each device 104a, selects either of the devices 104a or 104b as a slave device, and causes interference. Of the occurrence of the above-mentioned situation, and notify the subordinate device in advance that the operation is suspended (conditionally suspending the operation in one embodiment) in order to avoid interference. Have an obligation.

Referring now to Figures 9a and 9b, the architecture and operational flow of wireless device 100 with these additional obligations is shown. Although the wireless device 100 as shown in FIG. 9a is basically the embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 7, the wireless device 100 is designed to reduce the actual occurrence of interference by the network device 104a and the network device 104a. A network management application (network manager) 904 for proactively managing 104b is further provided.
The network manager 904 also includes the aforementioned obligations of the time division manager 704, namely the monitoring of the workloads of the two protocols and the adaptive setting of the values of the duration t1 to t4 for the time intervals T1 to T4.

Operationally, as shown in FIG. 9b, during initialization, the network manager 904 monitors the operation of the devices 104a and 104b for an observation period,
And determine 912 the pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern (and interference frequency with device 104b in one embodiment) that each device 104a follows.
To do. This can be accomplished using any one of numerous techniques known in the art. Next, the network manager 904 determines that each device 104a or each device 1
Select 914 either 04b as the dominant device. In one embodiment, the network manager 904 makes selections according to device configuration information programmed into the configuration register 902. In alternative embodiments, other configuration registers or other techniques known in the art, such as jumpers, may be employed to assist the network manager 904 in making the above selections.

Next, the network manager 904 continuously works (on going),
The determined pseudo-random pattern and the interference frequency are used to predict 916 when interference will occur. Whenever interference should occur, network
The manager 904 proactively notifies the dependent devices 918 that the operation should be deferred.
Therefore, the dominant device can operate without interference. [In one embodiment, if the slave device is device 104a, the notification includes the interference frequency and the reservation is conditional, ie, only when the predicted frequency is actually the interference frequency. ] The above process operates on both forms 104a and 104 that operate.
b as long as there are wireless devices.

In one embodiment, the network manager 904 uses the calibration described above.
ration) is repeated periodically. In yet another embodiment, network manager 904 may monitor actual interference between devices 104a and 104b and observe the average time between interferences. The network manager 904 repeats the above calibration whenever the average time between observed interferences falls below a predetermined performance level.

The number of devices 104a and 104b existing in the networks 108a and 108b is relatively small, and in particular, the networks 108a and 108b.
In an embodiment including the simplest case where there is only one device 104a and only one device 104b in each of b, the network manager 904 dynamically selects subordinate devices when interference is expected. And can be done in a personalized manner. That is, each single or multiple device 104a and 104b is dynamically and individually selected for each interference prediction. The selection of such a dynamic and individual method can be performed in view of the workloads of the above two protocols.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art (including the embodiment where the reservation is conditionally made by each device 104a), the above-described method of improving operation is with minimal changes to each device 104a and 104a or It can be implemented without modification, as virtually all network devices can temporarily suspend operations on demand. With respect to the embodiment where the hold is conditionally performed by each device 104a, the conditional procedure described above may be implemented by the addition of simple frequency test combination logic.

In yet another embodiment, the wireless device 100 plays respective roles for the devices 104a and 104b during the selection of a slave device at 914,
That is, it informs whether these devices are dominant or subordinate devices. Furthermore, at least the subordinate device also comprises a collision map for the subordinate device itself to determine whether interference occurs. In other words, act 916 is distributed to each subordinate device and act 918 is eliminated.

In yet another embodiment, wherein the wireless protocol is a frequency hopping protocol that employs pseudo-random, multiple frequencies sequentially, the interference determination is performed by the wireless device 100 or by a slave device. Whether implemented or not, the determination of interference involves predictively predicting whether transmission of a long packet by a slave device operating according to such frequency hopping protocol will cause interference with the dominant device. Including. Long packets are packets whose transmission spans multiple frequency hops. The subordinate device self-determines (depending on the embodiment) the start of transmission of such long packets so that no interference occurs or the wireless device 1
00.

Referring now to FIG. 10, illustrated is an interval of operation for the wireless device of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment. Again, the first protocol of each wireless device 104a in network 108a is assumed to be a frequency hopping protocol and the second protocol of each wireless device 104b in network 108b is assumed to be a constant frequency protocol (although this is also frequency hopping). -Can be a protocol). However, for exemplary purposes, as shown and as described above, it suffices for at least one of each frequency of the first protocol of each wireless device 104a to collide with a frequency of the second protocol of each wireless device 104b. is there. Thus, similarly, when some of the devices 104a and 104b are placed in close proximity to each other and one of each device 104a chooses to transmit at the same frequency, interference (or collision) may occur and more than one Transmission results in failure. In order to further improve the operating efficiency of both networks, the interfering devices 104a and 104b are simply caused to resolve each of the frequency interferences through conventional collision detection, backoff and retry techniques after the frequency interferences occur. Instead, wireless device 100 coordinates the operation of devices 104a and 104b to proactively reduce the actual occurrence of interference. More specifically, according to this embodiment, devices 104a and 104b have their respective interference signals correspondingly canceled (c
The filtering to be adopted is notified and the time when the filtering should be applied. As described in further detail below, the filtering to be employed in one embodiment is a notch filter, which is inversely shaped according to the signal of the other device. As a result, time-consuming collision detection, backoff and retries are substantially reduced, and experiments have shown that the overall operational efficiency of both networks, the dependent and dominant networks, is improved. .

As shown in FIG. 10, the device 104 a at each occurrence of predicted interference
And 104b both apply the corresponding required filtering to correspondingly cancel the respective interference signal. Similar to the above, the basic operation of the wireless device 100 is substantially unchanged, but in addition to the above, the wireless device 100 includes each device 1
04a, the pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern, the interference frequency, and the corresponding filtering that should be adopted to cancel the respective interfering signal, and the determined filtering and the time when the filtering is applied to the device 104a and It has an additional obligation to proactively notify 104b.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 a and 11 b, the architecture and operational flow of wireless device 100 with these additional obligations is shown. Wireless device 100, as shown in FIG. 11a, is basically the embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 9a. That is, the wireless device 100 additionally comprises a network manager 1104, although the network manager 1104 is slightly different from the additional obligation of proactively reducing interference.

At initialization, the network manager 1104 monitors the operation of the devices 104a and 104b for an observation period, as shown in FIG. 11b.
Determine 1112 the interference frequency with device 104b and the pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern that device 104a follows. Again, this can be accomplished using any one of numerous techniques known in the art. Next is network manager 1
104 determines the corresponding filtering to be adopted by the devices 104a and 104b to correspondingly cancel the respective interfering signal of the "other device",
In addition, the determined information is provided 1114 to the devices 104a and 104b.
In one embodiment, as mentioned above, the corresponding filtering to be adopted is a notch filter (see FIG. 12) which is inversely shaped according to the signal of the other device. That is, each device 104a applies the notch filter inversely formed according to the transmission signal of each device 104b, while each device 104b applies the notch filter inversely formed according to the transmission signal of each device 104a. [Generally, notch filters are known in the art and will not be described further. ]

The network manager 1104 then continually works to predict 1116 when interference will occur using the determined pseudo-random pattern and the interference frequency. Whenever interference should occur, network manager 110
4 devices 104a and 1 that corresponding filtering should be applied correspondingly
04b in advance to notify 1118 that both devices 104a and 104
b can operate without interference. The above process continues as long as both types of wireless devices 104a and 104b are operational. [Similarly, each device 1
The application of filtering according to 04a can also be conditionally carried out only when its frequency is in fact the same as the interference frequency. ]

As before, in one embodiment the network manager 1104 periodically repeats the calibration. In yet another embodiment, network manager 1104
May monitor the actual interference between devices 104a and 104b and observe the average time between interferences. The network manager 1104 repeats the above calibration whenever the average time between observed interferences falls below a predetermined performance level.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the method of operation improvement described immediately above provides each device 104a and 104a with the ability to responsively apply notch filtering to both types of network devices. It can be implemented with minimal changes to 104a. [Similarly, device 104a may additionally comprise simple combinatorial logic implementing conditional application of notch filtering. ]

Similar to the embodiments described with respect to FIGS. 8a, 8b and 9a, 9b,
In yet another embodiment, in addition to notifying the device of the required filtering at 1114, the wireless device 100 may self-determine to each device that each device is experiencing interference and perform appropriate filtering. Provide a collision map as applicable. In other words, operation 1116 is distributed to each device,
Act 1118 is eliminated.

Turning next to FIG. 14, another overview of the wireless device 100 of the present invention is that of each device 10 of the wireless networks 108a and 108b in accordance with another embodiment.
Shown with 4a and 104b. In this embodiment, each device additionally operates in a complementary manner to preventively reduce interference between each device. For exemplary purposes, each wireless device 104a shall employ a frequency hopping protocol. Further, each wireless device 104a is subdivided into at least two subsets, with the devices in the two subsets adopting consecutive frequencies according to at least two corresponding pseudo-random patterns. [In one embodiment, where the frequency hopping protocol is Bluetooth, each subset corresponds to a "piconet". Although only a single device 104a is shown in each of the subsets for ease of understanding, it should be noted that the present invention may be implemented with each subset having more than one device. ]

In accordance with the present invention, each device 104 is implemented to implement the desired preventive reduction of interference.
Different subsets of a are operated on in a synchronized manner (see Figure 15). In one embodiment, the synchronization is performed by synchronizing the transmit and receive operations of the various subsets with a reference signal. In one embodiment, the reference signal is provided by one of each device 104b. In another embodiment, the reference signal is provided by yet another device (not shown). Complementarily, each device 104b is also operated by transmit and receive operations aligned to the reference signal.

For this embodiment, in addition to incorporating one or more of the novel features described above, the wireless device 100 also provides for synchronous operation of each device 104a and aligned operation of each device 104b. Acting in a complementary manner provides the desired reduction in interference between the devices. Especially the controller manager 106a
According to one or both of the two controller managers 106a and 106b, a control clock aligned with the above two protocols is used to control the two controller managers 106a and 106b.
Can work.

More particularly, in one embodiment, the single or multiple controller managers 106a and / or 106b initiate communication with each device 104a of at least one of the subsets before wireless device 100.
When the wireless network 108b joins the wireless device 10b.
A 0 sets the two control clocks for the two protocols to be incrementally aligned. In one embodiment, the incremental alignment is implemented in a dependent manner, depending on the amount of misalignment associated with the transmission timeslot. In one embodiment, the incremental alignment decrements the start of the transmit timeslot by a predetermined amount for m consecutive transmit timeslots if the amount of misalignment is less than half the transmit timeslot size. Or by incrementing the start time of the transmission timeslot by a predetermined amount for n consecutive transmission timeslots if the amount of misalignment is less than half the transmission timeslot size. .

In other words, the transmission period for the protocol adopted by each device 104b (transmission period) is 0, B, 2B, ..., kB (0
≦ k <2 ⁶⁴ ) and the transmission time slot of the protocol adopted by each device 104a starts at d, d + S, ..., d + mS, etc. (0 ≦ d <S), the transmission time of the protocol of the network 108a. When the slot starts,
Depending on whether d is less than or equal to S / 2 or greater than S / 2, it can be continuously adjusted by t microseconds for m or n consecutive transmission time slots. In one embodiment, S is 625 microseconds and t is set to 8 microseconds. In contrast to the embodiment, if d is S / 2 or less, m is set to a maximum integer smaller than d / 8, but if d is larger than S / 2, n is larger than S- (d / 8). Set to a small maximum integer.

In other embodiments, other criteria and / or parameters, even other incrementing techniques may be employed instead. However, in one embodiment, the incremental alignment is only repeated after waiting at least a predetermined number of transmission time slots to "dampen the oscillations". In one embodiment, the predetermined number of transmission time slots queued is ten. In other embodiments, different waiting periods may be used instead.

Referring now to FIG. 13, an overview of the present invention is shown according to another embodiment. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1, wireless device 100 is communicatively coupled to devices 104a and 104b of wireless networks 108a and 108b. Since the wireless device 100 cooperates to perform transmission and reception of the above two protocols, the wireless device 100 simultaneously conforms to the respective protocols of each device 104a and 104 of the wireless networks 108a and 108b.
b can be manipulated. However, unlike all the embodiments described above, the wireless device 10
0 comprises a single wireless transceiver 1302,
Includes a combined signal transmit / receive section 1303 and a predetermined number of transmit and receive signal up / down transform sections 1205 sharing the combined signal transmit / receive section 1303. The wireless device 100 also includes a controller / signal processing (C /
SP) section 1306, which processes the data for transmission by the wireless transceiver 1302, the wireless transceiver 1302.
Process signals received by and control data / signal processing operations as well as the operation of wireless transceiver 1302. The configuration and operation of the wireless device 100 is the subject of the second parent application Ser. No. 09 / 436,458, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the wireless device 100 with / without predictive interference for long packets,
It comprises a network manager with the functions described above with reference to Figures 8a, 8b and 9a, 9b. In another embodiment wireless device 1
00 comprises a network manager with the functions described above with respect to FIGS. 10 and 11a, 11b. In yet another embodiment, the wireless device 100 comprises the functionality described above with respect to FIGS. 14 and 15. In short, the functions and operating methods described with reference to Figures 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10 and 11a, 11b and 14 and 15 are based on the above-mentioned first parent. It may be implemented by the multi-protocol wireless device of application No. 09 / 408,725 or by the multi-protocol wireless device of the second parent application.

Thus, a wireless device has been described that can reasonably easily handle multiple wireless communication protocols and associated various methods of operation, including proactive reduction of interference. Although the invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments above, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the described embodiments. The present invention may be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the above description should be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting with respect to the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1]   FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overview of a wireless device of the present invention according to one embodiment.

[Fig. 2]   3 is a diagram illustrating intervals of operation of the wireless device of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment. FIG.

[Figure 3]   FIG. 2 illustrates the wireless device of FIG. 1 in further detail according to one embodiment.

4 is a more detailed diagram of the operating states and flow of the state machine of FIG. 3 according to one embodiment.

[Figure 5]   2 is a more detailed view of the wireless device of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment. FIG.

6 is a more detailed diagram of the operating states and flow of the state machine of FIG. 5 according to one embodiment.

7 is a more detailed view of the wireless device of FIG. 1 in accordance with yet another embodiment.

FIG. 8a is a diagram illustrating time intervals of operation of the wireless device of FIG. 1 according to each of two alternative embodiments.

8b is a diagram illustrating time intervals of operation of the wireless device of FIG. 1 according to each of two alternative embodiments.

9a illustrates an architecture and operational flow of the wireless device 100 of FIG. 1 implementing a method of operation selected from FIGS. 8a-8b, according to one embodiment.

9b is a diagram illustrating the architecture and operational flow of the wireless device 100 of FIG. 1 implementing a method of operation selected from FIGS. 8a-8b, according to one embodiment.

[Figure 10]   FIG. 6 is a diagram showing intervals of operation of the wireless device of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment.

11a is a wireless device 10 of FIG. 1 implementing the method of operation of FIG. 11, according to one embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an architecture and an operation flow of 0.

11b is a wireless device 10 of FIG. 1 implementing the method of operation of FIG. 11, according to one embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an architecture and an operation flow of 0.

[Fig. 12]   It is a figure which shows the concept of notch filtering.

[Fig. 13]   FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an overview of a wireless device of the present invention according to another embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates another overview of a multi-protocol wireless device of the present invention with other wireless devices according to yet another embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates the concept of synchronous operation of two subsets of devices that employ a frequency hopping protocol according to two corresponding frequency hopping patterns.

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 10, 2002 (2002.4.10)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 6]

[Figure 7]

FIG. 8A

FIG. 8B

FIG. 9A

FIG. 9B

[Figure 10]

FIG. 11A

FIG. 11B

[Fig. 12]

[Fig. 13]

FIG. 14

FIG. 15

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (31) Priority claim number 09 / 439,946 (32) Priority date November 12, 1999 (November 12, 1999) (33) Priority claiming countries United States (US) (31) Priority claim number 09 / 560,672 (32) Priority date April 27, 2000 (April 27, 2000) (33) Priority claiming countries United States (US) (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), OA (BF, BJ , CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, K E, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG , ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, BZ, C A, CH, CN, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM , DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, K E, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS , LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, R U, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM , TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW (72) Inventor Zhao and Shudon             Pau, Oregon 97229, United States             Toland, Northwest Andalusia             Nway 16150 (72) Inventor Ginocer, Ran             Israel, 36001 Nofit, Gully             Le Street 104 F term (reference) 5K033 BA08 CB08 CB14 DA01 DA17                       EC03                 5K067 AA03 BB21 CC04 CC08 CC10                       EE04 [Continued summary] The transmission of long packets over multiple frequencies Note that it may interfere with devices on the second wireless network. It can facilitate prospective prediction about whether or not it will happen.

Claims (39)

[Claims] 1. A first plurality of devices comprising first and second subsets wirelessly networked together, each device capable of wireless communication according to a first frequency hopping protocol, and A first plurality of devices, the first and second subsets operating according to first and second frequency hopping patterns based on the first and second pseudo-random patterns; and a second plurality of devices wirelessly networked together. A second plurality of devices each capable of wirelessly communicating according to a second protocol, the first and second subsets of the first plurality of devices being synchronized in operation, and , The second plurality of devices operate complementarily to the synchronous operation of the first and second subsets of the first plurality of devices. To reduce interference between the first and second device prophylactically, collection of networked devices. 2. The first and second subsets of the first plurality of devices are operationally synchronized with respect to a reference signal, and the second plurality of devices are operatively aligned with the same reference signal. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to perform the prophylactic reduction of interference between the first and second devices. 3. The networked collection of devices is responsive to the first and second protocols and for the synchronous operation of the first and second subsets of the first plurality of devices. Complementarily said first and second
7. A multi-protocol device comprising first and second transceivers for wirelessly communicating with a plurality of said devices to prevent interference of said first and second plurality of devices in a preventive manner. The device according to. 4. The first and second subsets are operationally synchronized to a reference signal, the second plurality of devices are operatively aligned to the same reference signal, and the multiplexed. 4. The protocol device comprises control logic for performing the preventive reduction of interference between the devices by operating in a complementary manner to the synchronization and to the alignment with respect to the reference signal. The device according to. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control logic includes logic that performs incremental alignment with respect to the reference signal. 6. The control logic increments the alignment with respect to the reference signal by at least one selected from first and second methods depending on the amount of misalignment with a transmission timeslot. The apparatus of claim 4, including logic for implementing. 7. The logic decrements the start of a transmit timeslot by a predetermined amount for m consecutive transmit timeslots if the amount of misalignment is less than half the transmit timeslot size. 6. The device according to 6. 8. The logic increments the start of a transmit timeslot by a predetermined amount for n consecutive transmit timeslots if the amount of misalignment is greater than half the transmit timeslot size. 6. The device according to 6. 9. A plurality of transmitting and receiving signals according to first and second protocols to respective first and second network devices of first and second wireless networks communicatively connected to the apparatus. A wireless transceiver, wherein the first network device comprises first and second subsets that synchronously transmit and receive according to first and second frequency hopping patterns based on first and second pseudo-random patterns. , The first protocol is a frequency hopping protocol, and a plurality of wireless transceivers for each wireless transceiver in a manner complementary to the synchronous operation of the first and second subsets of the first network device. Control and coordinate movements,
At least one controller manager for reducing interference between the device and the first and second network devices. 10. The logic for at least one controller manager to align transmit and receive operations of the wireless transceiver with respect to a reference signal with which the first and second subsets of the first network device synchronize operation. 10. The device of claim 9, comprising: 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one controller manager includes logic to incrementally perform the alignment with respect to the reference signal. 12. The logic performs the alignment with respect to the reference signal in increments of at least one selected from first and second methods depending on the amount of misalignment with a transmission time slot. The device according to claim 10. 13. The logic is such that if the amount of misalignment is a transmission time slot
13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the start time of the transmission time slot is reduced by a predetermined amount for m consecutive transmission time slots if it is less than half the size. 14. The logic is such that if the amount of misalignment is a transmission time slot
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the start time of a transmission timeslot is incremented by a predetermined amount for n consecutive transmission timeslots if greater than half the size. 15. The first protocol is Bluetooth, and the second protocol is 802.11 frequency hopping, 802.11 direct spread, 80.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, which is a protocol selected from the group consisting of 2.11a, 802.11b and home RF. 16. The device of claim 9, wherein the device is a computer having a form factor selected from the group consisting of desktop format, notebook format and palm size format. 17. An apparatus having first and second wireless transceivers, comprising: (a) a first protocol that is a frequency hopping protocol, and first and second based on first and second pseudo-random patterns, respectively. To the first and second subsets of the first network device in a manner complementary to the method of synchronizing the operation of the first and second subsets of the first network device of the first wireless network according to a frequency hopping pattern. Controlling the first wireless transceiver for transmitting and receiving data according to a second protocol, and (b) according to a second protocol and the synchronous operation of the first and second subsets of the first network device. To a second network device of a second wireless network to the In a complementary manner to the alignment method, the second
Controlling the second wireless transceiver to send and receive data to and from a network device. 18. The control step of the complementary method comprises transmitting and receiving the first and second wireless transceivers to a reference signal with which the first and second subsets of the first network device synchronize operation. 18. The method of claim 17, comprising aligning receive operations. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the alignment with respect to the reference signal is performed incrementally. 20. The alignment with respect to the reference signal is performed in increments of at least one selected from first and second methods depending on the amount of misalignment with a transmission timeslot. 18. The method according to 18. 21. The incremental alignment decrements the start time of a transmission timeslot by a predetermined amount for m consecutive transmission timeslots if the amount of misalignment is less than half the transmission timeslot size. 21. The method of claim 20, comprising: 22. The incremental alignment increments the start time of a transmission timeslot by a predetermined amount for n consecutive transmission timeslots if the amount of misalignment is greater than half the transmission timeslot size. 21. The method of claim 20, comprising: 23. A first plurality of devices wirelessly networked together, each device according to a first frequency hopping protocol consisting of a plurality of frequencies that are sequentially employed based on a pseudo-random pattern. A first plurality of devices capable of communicating wirelessly and a second plurality of devices wirelessly networked together, each device capable of communicating wirelessly according to a second protocol. And a multi-protocol device capable of wirelessly communicating with the first and second plurality of devices according to the first and second protocols, the multi-protocol device further including at least the first protocol. According to a first network device selected from among the first network devices according to Network, facilitating at least a reduction in interference between the devices, including facilitating a predictive prediction of whether or not interference will occur during the transmission of long packets across multiple frequencies within A collection of installed devices. 24. The networked according to claim 23, wherein the multi-protocol apparatus comprises a network manager capable of determining a pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern of the first network device of the first wireless network. A collection of devices. 25. The network manager further predicts when interference will occur between the first and second network devices of the first and second wireless networks based on the determined pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern. 25. A collection of networked devices according to claim 24, which is possible. 26. The collection of networked devices of claim 25, wherein the network manager may further provide a collision map for the first / second network device. 27. The collection of networked devices as claimed in claim 25, wherein the network manager may further inform the first / second network device of foreseen interference. 28. First and second of first and second wireless networks
At least one wireless transceiver that transmits and receives signals to and from a network device according to first and second protocols, respectively, wherein the first protocol comprises a plurality of frequencies that are successively adopted according to a pseudo-random pattern. At least one of a plurality of the continuous frequencies by at least one transceiver that is a frequency hopping protocol and a first network device selected from the first network devices according to the first protocol. By facilitating a predictive prediction of whether interference will occur during the transmission of long packets over the frequency of the transmission of at least the preventive reduction of the interference between the apparatus and the network devices. At least to control and coordinate reception performance A device comprising at least one controller manager coupled to a wireless transceiver. 29. The device is the first wireless network of the first wireless network.
29. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising a network manager that can determine the pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern of a network device. 30. The network manager predicts when interference occurs between the first and second network devices of the first and second wireless networks based on the determined pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern. 30. The apparatus of claim 29, including logic for performing. 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the network manager may further provide a collision map for the first / second network device. 32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the network manager may further notify the foreseen interference to the first / second network device. 33. The first protocol is Bluetooth and the second protocol is 802.11 frequency hopping, 802.11 direct spread, 80.
29. The apparatus of claim 28, which is a protocol selected from the group consisting of 2.11a, 802.11b and home RF. 34. The device of claim 28, wherein the device is a computer having a form factor selected from the group consisting of desktop format, notebook format and palm size format. 35. A method of operation in an apparatus having at least one wireless transceiver and at least one controller manager, the first method for the first and second network devices of the first and second wireless networks, respectively. And a step of controlling the at least one wireless transceiver for transmitting and receiving signals according to a second protocol, wherein the first protocol is a frequency hopping protocol consisting of a plurality of frequencies that are successively adopted according to a pseudo-random pattern. And transmitting a long packet over at least a plurality of said consecutive frequencies by a first network device selected from among said first network devices according to said first protocol. Interference occurs By simmer Kano expected manner foreseen easy, at least, said device and said each network
A step of facilitating the proactive reduction of interference between devices; 36. The method of claim 35, wherein said at least facilitating comprises determining a pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern for said first network device of said first wireless network. 37. The at least facilitating step comprises determining when interference occurs between the first and second network devices of the first and second wireless networks based on the determined pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern. 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of predicting. 38. The at least facilitating step further comprises providing a collision map for the first / second network device.
The method described in. 39. The method of claim 37, wherein the at least facilitating further comprises notifying the first / second network device of foreseen interference.